The Badger Catholic: Ireland

Showing posts with label Ireland. Show all posts

The Rocky Road

St. Patrick's Oratory in Green Bay to hold first annual Feast of St. Patrick - and a renovation project

www.auctria.com/auction/SPOsFeastofStPatrick

Details

Also, I didn't realize this but the church building at St. Patrick's is in the middle of a renovation project. I took a few photos my last time in town (I didn't ask ahead so I'm a little gun shy being the stranger taking a bunch of pictures). Unfortunately at some point in the church's history, some frescos were painted over, and you can see from the pictures how many features were minimalized or removed. However, the project which is already underway has made some significant improvement. We cant quite see the high altar, but if you look at my previous visit you can make out the side altar seen, etc. A reader sent me a few photos from Epiphany(and the top two are from a couple years ago).

From a couple of years ago

From a couple years ago

The work is only part way done. An altar rail is also being installed, and also some less exciting but mandatory updates like the boiler, etc. I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Oh, here, on their Facebook page they have a good shot:

St Patrick: "I came to the Irish peoples to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers"

via iBreviary Office of Readings[italics original, emphasis mine]

From the Confession of Saint Patrick, bishop (Cap 14-16:PL 53, 808-809)
Through me many peoples have been reborn in God

I give unceasing thanks to my God, who kept me faithful in the day of my testing. Today I can offer him sacrifice with confidence, giving myself as a living victim to Christ, my Lord, who kept me safe through all my trials. I can say now: Who am I, Lord, and what is my calling, that you worked through me with such divine power? You did all this so that today among the Gentiles I might constantly rejoice and glorify your name wherever I may be, both in prosperity and in adversity. You did it so that, whatever happened to me, I might accept good and evil equally, always giving thanks to God. God showed me how to have faith in him for ever, as one who is never to be doubted. He answered my prayer in such a way that in the last days, ignorant though I am, I might be bold enough to take up so holy and so wonderful a task, and imitate in some degree those whom the Lord had so long ago foretold as heralds of his Gospel, bearing witness to all nations.

How did I get this wisdom, that was not mine before? I did not know the number of my days, or have knowledge of God. How did so great and salutary a gift come to me, the gift of knowing and loving God, though at the cost of homeland and family? I came to the Irish peoples to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers, putting up with reproaches about my earthly pilgrimage, suffering many persecutions, even bondage, and losing my birthright of freedom for the benefit of others.

If I am worthy, I am ready also to give up my life, without hesitation and most willingly, for his name. I want to spend myself in that country, even in death, if the Lord should grant me this favor. I am deeply in his debt, for he gave me the great grace that through me many peoples should be reborn in God, and then made perfect by confirmation and everywhere among them clergy ordained for a people so recently coming to believe, one people gathered by the Lord from the ends of the earth. As God had prophesied of old through the prophets: The nations shall come to you from the ends of the earth, and say: “How false are the idols made by our fathers: they are useless.” In another prophecy he said: I have set you as a light among the nations, to bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

It is among that people that I want to wait for the promise made by him, who assuredly never tells a lie. He makes this promise in the Gospel: They shall come from the east and west, and sit down with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. This is our faith: believers are to come from the whole world.

Image

The Secret Paths That Led Ireland’s Catholics to Forbidden Mass

On Ireland’s southwest coast, in County Kerry, there is a small village called Caherdaniel. Nearby, there is a national park, a fort that offers glimpses of the Skellig Islands, and the sloping shores of Derrynane Bay. And, etched into this countryside, is the Caherdaniel Mass Path. Like other such paths around Ireland, this narrow track was used by Catholics to attend mass 300 years ago, during a time of religious persecution.

The locations of these passages were closely held secrets, which is why it took Irish photographer Caitriona Dunnett years to research her project Mass Paths. It was the one at Caherdaniel that first sparked her interest. “I photographed it and remembered learning about the penal times at school,” she says. “It inspired me to research and find other penal paths to photograph.”

Beginning in the 1690s, the Protestant-controlled Irish Parliament, in conjunction with the English Parliament, passed a series of increasingly stringent, brutally wide-ranging penal laws that imposed serious restrictions on the already oppressed Catholic majority. No Catholic person could vote, or become a lawyer or a judge. They could not own a firearm or serve in the army or navy. They could not set up a school, or teach or be educated abroad. They could not own a horse worth more than £5. They could not speak or read their native Gaelic.

continue at Atlas Obscura

Host to be tippling there

For all eternity.

I'd love the men of Heaven to live with me,

To dance and sing.

If they wanted, I'd put at their disposal

Vats of suffering.

White cups of love I'd give them

With a heart and a half;

Sweet pitchers of mercy I'd offer

To every man.

I'd make Heaven a cheerful spot

Because the happy heart is true.

I'd make the men contented for their own sake.

I'd like Jesus to love me too.

I'd like the people of heaven to gather

From all the parishes around.

I'd give a special welcome to the women,

The three Marys of great renown.

I'd sit with the men, the women and God

There by the lake of beer.

We'd be drinking good health forever

And every drop would be a prayer.

Source

St. Bride- John Duncan

HT: The Lion and the Cardinal

Patrick: "I came to the Irish peoples to preach the Gospel and endure the taunts of unbelievers"

via iBreviary Office of Readings[italics original, emphasis mine]

Also for today: Croagh Patrick, strap off your boots

Image

July's FOTA Liturgy Conference in Cork, Ireland headlines Cdl. Burke

The Church of Sts Peter & Paul, Cork in the presence of Raymond Cardinal Burke

St. Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy is pleased to announce that His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Apostolic Signature, will officially open the Fota VII International Liturgy Conference to be held at the Clarion Hotel, Cork, Ireland on 5-7 July 2014.

His Eminence will also deliver the key-note address at the conference.

St. Colman’s Society for Catholic Liturgy is pleased to announce that registration for the Seventh Fota International Liturgy Conference is now open. Those wishing to attend are asked to complete the form below and return it to the Society’s Secretary.

details at Sts. Peter and Paul - Cork

Yeah, it's mine.

Stephen: Excellent! [puts knife away] Stephen is my name. I'm the most wanted man on my island. Except I'm not on my island of course. More's the pity.

Hamish: Your island? ...You mean Ireland.

Stephen: Yeah, it's mine.

Hamish: You're a madman.

Braveheart

Did you know blue not green is the color of Ireland?

Ever wonder why the Constitution of Ireland
comes in a blue book?

THE CHANCES ARE that by the time the St Patrick’s Day celebrations wrap up night (or tomorrow morning) you could be pretty fed up with seeing people wearing the colour green – and be happy to pack up your various green clothes for just a while.

But here’s something that you might never have thought about: where did green come from as Ireland’s national colour anyway?

And what if we were to tell you that Ireland’s national colour might not be green at all… but blue.

A look back at Irish history through the recent centuries means there’s no clear reason why green has become known as the national colour of Ireland – or, equally, why blue was seen as the first national colour (and why it fell out of favour).

A colourful history

Ireland’s history with the colour blue is largely related to its colonial history, but there are older associations too – Flaitheas Éireann, the embodiment of Irish sovereignty in mythological times (a sort of Irish answer to Uncle Sam or Jack Bull), wore blue.

The crest for the older Kingdom of Meath, the seat of the High Kings of Ireland, showed the image of a ruler sitting on a green throne with a blue background.

This historical connotation inspired Constance Markievicz to use the light blue as the background for the ‘Starry Plough’ flag of the Irish Citizen Army when it was formed in 1913 to defend trade unionists during the 1913 lockouts. That flag is still associated with modern Irish socialism.

However, the formal use of blue was first seen when Ireland was turned into a Kingdom in 1542 under the reign of King Henry VIII.

continue at The Journal

Also for today: Croagh Patrick, strap off your boots

And what about this!

Irish Bars Were Close

Ireland has been officially celebrating St. Patrick's Day since 1903, when Irish politician James O'Mara introduced a bill in Westminster that made it an official public holiday back in his homeland. But not until the 1960s could you find revelers celebrating at a bar. Ireland is heavily Catholic, and St. Patrick's Day falls during Lent, which means that although celebratory feasts and drinks were allowed, an all-night party seemed a little too sinful. Fearing excessive drinking, Ireland introduced a law that forced all pubs to close on March 17. Luckily for beermakers, the law was repealed in 1961. The Irish are now free to get as drunk as the Americans who use the day to get drunk celebrating the Irish. [being a drunk isn't really a celebration of anything except for a celebration of self. Irish saints have fought against this decadence for thousands of years]

Read more: Irish Bars Were Closed - 10 Things You Didn't Know About St. Patrick's Day - TIME

And from the Cardinal's time in Ireland (his Irish roots motivate him to visit often). This is SS. Peter & Paul's Church in Cork.

St. Patrick's Day Shenanigans of the 1850s

In his memoir Old Times on the Upper Mississippi, steamboat pilot George Merrick recalled some St. Patrick's Day hijinks in the river town of Prescott, Wis. They took place during the late 1850s, when hundreds of side-wheelers fueled commerce in the heart of the continent.

Assistant Engineer Billy Hamilton of the 'Fanny Harris'

Merrick described Billy Hamilton, the assistant engineer on the Fanny Harris, as "a wild one on shore and a terror to the captain when on board and on duty." His commanding officer was particularly annoyed by Hamilton's habit of burning massive amounts of fuel and running his boilers at dangerously high pressure.

But whenever the captain had a dispute with the unruly crew -- which Merrick described as "composed of 40 Irishmen" -- Hamilton assisted by "jumping into a crowd and hitting every head in sight with whatever weapon happened to be at hand until order was restored. Usually, however, it was with bare hands..."

His Prank and Its Consequences

One spring while the steamboat was still iced-bound at Prescott, Hamilton decided to play a prank on the crew.

"The night before St. Patrick's Day," the old pilot recalled, "Billy made up an effigy, which he hung between the smokestacks. As the manikin had a clay pipe in its mouth and a string of potatoes about its neck, it might have reference to the patron saint of the Old Sod."

It was an era when Irish immigrants were greeted by prejudice or even violence, and the crew was not amused. Nor were the loyal Irishmen of the town. "Billy had to stand off the crowd for several hours with a shot gun, and finally get the town marshal to guard the boat while he climbed up and removed the obnoxious image."

Prescott's residents sought retaliation with a prank of their own. Hamilton "had a little iron cannon which he fired on all holidays," Merrick continued, "and sometimes when there was no holiday; in the latter case, at about three o'clock in the morning, just to remind people living in the vicinity of the levee that he was still on watch. In retaliation for the effigy affair, his Irish friends slipped aboard the boat one evening while he was away and spiked his cannon."

continue at Wisconsin Historical Society

Video: Cdl Burke in the ol' cappa magna in Cork, Ireland

Did someone confirm with Abbey Roads

what these things were designed for?

Poodles, it's okay,

I've had a coming to cappa moment.

Croagh Patrick, strap off your boots

A yearly post:

Croagh Patrick pilgrims today, many make the climb barefoot

From time to time he withdrew from the spiritual duties of his apostolate to devote himself wholly to prayer and penance. In the far west of Connaught there is a range of tall mountains, which, arrayed in rugged majesty, bid defiance to the waves and storms of the Atlantic. At the head of this range arises a stately cone in solitary grandeur, about 4000 feet in height, facing Clew Bay, and casting its shadow over the adjoining districts of Aghagower and Westport. This mountain was known in pagan times as the Eagle Mountain, but ever since Ireland was enlightened with the light of Faith it is known as Croagh Patrick, i.e. St. Patrick's mountain, and is honoured as the Holy Hill, the Mount Sinai, of Ireland.

St. Patrick, in obedience to his guardian angel, made this mountain his hallowed place of retreat. In imitation of the great Jewish legislator on Sinai, he spent forty days on its summit in fasting and prayer, and other penitential exercises. His only shelter from the fury of the elements, the wind and rain, the hail and snow, was a cave, or recess, in the solid rock; and the flagstone on which he rested his weary limbs at night is still pointed out. The whole purpose of his prayer was to obtain special blessings and mercy for the Irish race, whom he evangelized. The demons that made Ireland their battlefield mustered all their strength to tempt the saint and disturb him in his solitude, and turn him away, if possible, from his pious purpose. They gathered around the hill in the form of vast flocks of hideous birds of prey. So dense were their ranks that they seemed to cover the whole mountain, like a cloud, and they so filled the air that Patrick could see neither sky nor earth nor ocean. St. Patrick besought God to scatter the demons, but for a time it would seem as if his prayers and tears were in vain. At length he rang his sweet-sounding bell, symbol of his preaching of the Divine truths. Its sound was heard all over the valleys and hills of Erin, everywhere bringing peace and joy. The flocks of demons began to scatter. He flung his bell among them; they took to precipitate flight, and cast themselves into the ocean. So complete was the saint's victory over them that, as the ancient narrative adds, "for seven years no evil thing was to be found in Ireland."

The saint, however, would not, as yet, descend from the mountain. He had vanquished the demons, but he would now wrestle with God Himself, like Jacob of old, to secure the spiritual interests of his people. The angel had announced to him that, to reward his fidelity in prayer and penance, as many of his people would be gathered into heaven as would cover the land and sea as far as his vision could reach. Far more ample, however, were the aspirations of the saint, and he resolved to persevere in fasting and prayer until the fullest measure of his petition was granted. Again and again the angel came to comfort him, announcing new concessions; but all these would not suffice. He would not relinquish his post on the mountain, or relax his penance, until all were granted. At length the message came that his prayers were heard:

    * many souls would be free from the pains of purgatory through his intercession;
    * whoever in the spirit of penance would recite his hymn before death would attain the heavenly reward;
    * barbarian hordes would never obtain sway in his Church;
    * seven years before the Judgement Day, the sea would spread over Ireland to save its people from the temptations and terrors of the Antichrist; and
    * greatest blessing of all, Patrick himself should be deputed to judge the whole Irish race on the last day.

Catholic Encyclopedia

ProLifeIreland: Abortion never saves a woman's life

A friend has dual citizenship with the US and Ireland. I'm thoroughly jealous.

Cardinal Burke Honors Irish Blessed With Monument

via New Liturgical Movement

ROME — Cardinal Raymond Burke recently unveiled a monument he commissioned for his titular church, St. Agatha of the Goths, of a saintly Irish monk who was ordained there in 1881.

“Cardinal Burke loves to build and loves to beautify … and this is a monument to this great man and this great event in his life to remind us where this saint was ordained,” said Duncan Stroik, the monument's designer, in a Nov. 14 interview with Catholic News Agency.

The monument to Blessed Columba Marmion, which was dedicated Oct. 25, is located on the side aisle of the church and features a bas relief profile of the blessed above a Latin inscription.

The inscription proclaims, “Here in the church of St. Agatha of the Goths, June 16, 1881, Joseph Marmion was ordained a priest for the Archdiocese of Dublin by Tobias Kirby, rector of the Irish College. Then, after entering the Order of St. Benedict and taking the name Columba at the Abbey of Maredsous, he was elected the third abbot of the same community.”

“Excelling in priestly virtue and renowned for his sanctity, he died on Jan. 30, 1923, and was beatified Sept. 3, 2000, by Pope John Paul II.”

It also notes that “His Eminence Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke took care to erect this monument in A.D. 2012.

Cardinal Burke at Limerick Ireland

On September 12, His Eminence Raymond Cardinal Burke offered Pontifical Low Mass in St. Patrick’s Church, Limerick, where the Institute offers Holy Mass each Sunday. The Lassus Scholars sang motets for this beautiful Liturgy at which His Eminence was assisted by the Canons and seminarians of the Institute, as well as clergy and servers from the local area.

That same afternoon, Cardinal Burke came to the Institute’s residence near the city of Limerick at St. Joseph’s House in Granagh. His Eminence blessed the new house chapel, where the faithful can attend the daily celebration of Holy Mass, and the large statue of Saint Joseph in the house garden. A good number of the Limerick faithful came for this event, as well as friends from the local clergy of the Limerick diocese.

details at ICKSP

Cardinal Burke at Fota IV Liturgical Conference in Dublin

Cardinal Burke with the Lassus Scholars

Gloria.tv

Some more photos from New Liturgical Movement

Madison Cathedral Parish offers "Forgiveness Lenten Retreat"

Dr. Robert Enright, a professor in Educational
Psychology at UW-Madison and
founder of the Healing Through Forgiveness Society,
has been scientifically studying forgiveness for
the past 25 years and his academic studies of
forgiveness played a central role in his
conversion to the Catholic faith.

Forgiveness Lenten Retreat

St. Patrick Church, Madison

Friday evening, April 15th and Saturday, April 16th

Key Speakers will include:

Robert Enright, Ph.D., Educational Psychology Professor, UW-Madison, International Forgiveness Institute (IFI) Founder

Msgr. Hebl, Ph.D., Counseling Psychology, Former Pastor of St. Bernard Parish, Madison

Fr. Johnson Nellissery, Schoenstatt Movement Moderator, Madison

Update:
An anonymous donor has offered to pay for the cost of the retreat making it possible for everyone to attend the Healing Through Forgiveness Lenten Retreat free of charge. Please contact Amber Flesch at amberpsalm23@gmail.com by April 4th.

amberpsalm23@gmail.com

Cathedral Parishes website detailing the society and the retreat

Very interesting new section I see on their site:

1. Amber Flesch and Bob Enright are preparing a chapter for a book entitled, The Church as Forgiving Community. His Eminence, Raymond Cardinal Burke, Cardinal Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura, has agreed to write the "centerpiece" chapter for this book.

2. A conference, based on the ideas in the above book, is being planned at the Pontificia Universita della Santa Croce in Rome.

3. Bob Enright of our Society was asked to give two talks on forgiveness at the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin on Wednesday, June 13 and Friday, June 15, 2012.

4. As prelude to the Eucharistic Congress, he will present three talks on forgiveness this June at a conference in Knock, Ireland (where Our Lady of Knock Shrine is).

5. Our Society has been asked to give a Forgiveness Retreat at Holy Cross Church in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday evening, June 17 and all day Saturday, June 18 this year. Holy Cross Church is the most Christ-crucified church in all of Northern Ireland because during the height of The Troubles (1972-1998) 99 of the parishioners were killed for their Catholic faith. We have been asked to provide the Forgiveness Retreat on the eve of the 10-year anniversary of vicious attacks on the girls of Holy Cross Girls School (which began to occur on June 19, 2001). These little girls were persecuted because of their Catholic faith. This Forgiveness Retreat will be attended not only by the parishioners of this church but also by Protestants who seek peace in this embattled region of Belfast. Please pray for us that we do God's will in this retreat.

6. A Forgiveness Retreat will be offered at the Cathedral Parish on the Friday evening and Saturday (April 15 and 16) of Palm Sunday weekend this year. Details to appear soon in the Cathedral Parish bulletin.

Impressive, I hope this group keeps me updated on their progress.

The Badger Catholic

Pages